The Thing
by Juniper Watershadow
Summary: Someone from the Norwegian base survived the thing unharmed, and now makes their way to US Outpost #31.
1. Chapter 1

**Antarctica, 1982**

All she knew was that she had to run. Although she had slowed to a determined walk, she kept pushing forth. The Artic chill was cold and pierced her very core, but that didn't bother her. The endless white terrain was desolate with no promise of safety or relief. It was the smallest miracle that there was still daylight for them to go by. She looked at her friend beside her who was struggling as much as she was. He was built better than her, but she knew he was weakened by the creature. The creature that had killed all of her co-workers, her dog Max, her research; all she had now was the very person who almost died trying to save her. He was injured by the creature, she knew that. He tried to hide it from her, but she was too quick for him. He wouldn't make it through the night unless they found some form of help. But in this case, hope was nowhere in sight. A single shred of hope would be the equivalent to a needle in a hay stack. She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the chill. Instead she tried to concentrate on Denny's breathing; his shallow, painful breaths that sounded like his last every time he inhaled.

"How are you holding up?" she dared to ask him.

"Not good," he said through gritted teeth. He pressed his gloved hand to his side. "Where the hell are we going, anyway?"

"I…I don't know," she admitted shamefully. "Maybe we'll find another base. We can't be the only two people in Antarctica..."

He chuckled sarcastically. "Oh, yeah. This entire continent is just crawling with people."

"You know, a little optimism here wouldn't kill you," she retorted.

"Optimism?" he exclaimed. "You want to talk optimism? God, how hard did you hit your head back there?"

She could only roll her eyes to cover up her fear. She knew Denny was right; it was foolish to have optimism in a place like this. Suddenly, Denny gasped and stumbled onto the snow, doubled over in pain. She fell to his side, wrapping her arms around him. "Denny, please," she pleaded. "Just hold on. Please…"

"Who're we kidding, Kay?" he exclaimed, pressing his hand to his side. "We're in Antarctica, for Christ's sake; we might as well be dead."

"If you keep talking like that, then we will be," Kathryn looked around, thinking that help would suddenly appear. "We just…we have to…"

"Kay, look, it's fine," Denny looked up at her and tried to give her a reassuring smile through his pain. "That thing isn't going to get us, not this far out. We burned it good."

"I know, but…" she felt her chin quiver. "I'm scared."

"I know. Believe me, I'm scared shitless. But it'll be fine," his eyes were struggling to stay open. Kay didn't realize it, but so were hers. The cold was starting to disappear, and everything began to feel warm. Denny settled onto the snow, his voice revealing just how exhausted he really was. "Just breathe," he whispered. "Breathe…"

Kay watched as he slumped onto the snow. There was a small red spot already forming next to him. She could feel herself began to fade as well. The throbbing in her head was beginning to subside, her whole body going numb. They had been walking for hours with no hope in sight, except for that of a higher power. Realizing the end was probably near, Kay leaned on Denny's body, trying to relax and prepare for whatever lay ahead. She tugged her coat close to her body as the wind blew around them. Just as she slipped into unconsciousness, she thought she heard the distant sound of an approaching aircraft.


	2. Chapter 2

The low murmur of voices brought Kay out of the darkness. She heard soft sounds of clinking metal and the slam of a door that made her head throb with pain. When she tried to open her eyes, she was surprised at how weak she felt. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a low groan. The voices hushed until a man spoke up.

"I think this one's alive," he said. "I'm surprised she hasn't frozen to death by now."

Kay slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but slowly became clearer as she focused on the place she was in. It wasn't Heaven, she decided, nor did it appear to be Hell. She was in a lab of some sort, the roof low and the walls covered with papers and charts. She looked up at who had spoken and saw it was a man of about fifty. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened as he peered closely at her. His glasses slid a little down his nose.

"Ma'am, can you hear me?" he asked.

Kay nodded, trying to decipher where she was. She looked around the room and saw five scruffy looking men gawking back at her. They were all dressed like they worked along an oil pipeline in Alaska: thermal shirts, thick pants, snow boots. Some of them had untrimmed beards and hair poking out at odd angles. One kind of reminded her of Denny…

"Can she talk?" asked a man with headphones around his neck. "Ask her, Blair."

"Can you speak, ma'am?" the man named Blair asked.

Kay swallowed the lump in her throat and asked the first thing that came to mind. "W-Where's Denny?" she asked weakly. "Is he alright?"

Blair frowned, silently looking past her. Kay followed his gaze and saw a long metal table next to her. On it was a body covered by a white sheet. One side of the sheet was stained with blood.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Blair said. "When MacReady found you two, your friend was barely holding on. Copper tried to stop his bleeding but…his wounds were deep."

"Denny…"Kay choked back a sob. "He…He was talking. He was talking before…"

"Miss Kennedy, we need to ask you some questions," said another aging man standing by Denny's body.

"Garry, she just woke up," said a man wearing glasses. "Give her a minute to come to."

"We have to report this, Fuchs. MacReady and Copper went to find where she came from, so we need to tell someone about this A.S.A.P. Give her some food and water and see how she feels in half an hour." The man named Garry left the room.

"Are you hungry, ma'am?" Blair asked. "We have some chili."

"Best you'll find in this part of the world," joked the headphone man.

"You're hilarious, Palmer," said a sarcastic dark skinned man. He was rocking back and forth on roller skates.

"Um, I'd actually really love some water…" Kay said, trying to sit up. They had covered her with a white sheet as well. _In case I died like Denny_, she thought sadly.

Blair helped her sit up. "Slowly," he said. "Don't stress yourself out too much."

Kay rubbed her forehead. "I'm fine, just…tired."

"Hypothermia does that to a person," Palmer joked. "You were lucky. Wish I could say the same for what's his name."

"His name is Denny," Kay said, anger flaring up inside. "He has a name, he's my friend, he's every bit as important as me, he's…oh, God." She felt a dull pain in her chest as she tried to breathe. She suddenly felt dizzy as she looked around the room. "Oh, God, I don't feel well…"

"Lie back down. Nauls, get some blankets. She's going through rewarming collapse," Blair set her down and started warming her arms. "Ma'am just relax, everything's going to be fine. Just breathe…"


	3. Chapter 3

When Kay woke up, she was sweating. She saw she had been moved to a small isolated room with a bed and a closet. Looking under the covers, she saw the very think pair of wool pants they had given her along with a sweater. She looked around for a clock to tell her the time, but there was none. Shoving the blankets aside, she stripped off her sweater and pants for something a bit lighter. In a nearby closet she found a large tan thermal shirt that hung down to her knees and a dark robe. She kept the thick wool socks on her feet and the pair of long johns covering her legs.

Kay cautiously opened the door and poked her head outside her room. The hallway was gray and empty with only a few lights overhead to light her way. She scooted out and silently closed the door. She wandered down the hall, taking in the boxes and crates lining the walls. She could hear no voices from around her, just the sound of her socks rubbing the hard floor. The silence grew more eerie as she continued to explore. When Kay passed a window, she looked outside and saw nothing but white. She already loathed the snow because of what it had done to Denny and everybody else she had worked with. Her desire to escape the cold had only increased since she had been here. Thinking of Denny only filled her with more sadness.

Blinking back tears, she continued to explore, waiting to encounter someone. Eventually, she heard noises coming from a room off to one side. Following the noise, she discovered it was a woman speaking softly. The door was slightly ajar when she put her ear close to it. There was a man inside as well, chuckling.

"Poor baby, you're starting to lose it, aren't you?" he said.

Just when Kay thought she was eavesdropping on someone having sex, she heard the woman say, _"Rook to Knight 6."_

Intrigued, Kay pushed open the door slightly and looked inside. There was indeed a man, but he was sitting at a computer entitled **Chess Wizard**. His back was to her; from the looks of it, he was losing. The man poured himself a drink as the computer said, _"Checkmate. Checkmate."_ The man, no doubt upset by his loss, opened the computer up and poured his drink inside the machine. A few sparks flew, and then the screen went black.

"Cheating bitch," he mumbled. As he stood up, Kay quickly moved out of the door. However, she tripped over a loose tarp and fell to the floor with a loud _thud_.

Before she could run back down the hallway, she heard, "What are you doing?" She looked up and saw the man staring down at her. She had to admit, he was handsome. He was tall, well built with a full grown beard. His light eyes looked her up and down in understanding. "You're the girl, right?"

Flustered, Kay quickly nodded. He bent down and offered her his hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just…wandering."

"You're American?" he asked surprisingly.

She nodded. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, it's just there aren't many Americans down here during the winter. Usually Garry's informed if there are."

"Guess I wasn't important enough to report," she joked.

The man didn't laugh. There was an awkward silence before he cleared his throat. "Listen, ma'am…sorry, I didn't hear your name."

"Kennedy," she said. "Kathryn Kennedy."

"Right, Miss Kennedy. Now that you're up and about, Garry'd like to ask you a few questions."

Kay nodded. "Fine. Can you take me to him?"

He nodded. "Follow me." He started down another hallway as Kay followed him. As they walked, Kay observed him. His posture was very relaxed, but he didn't try to make conversation with her. She guessed he was the type of person who isolated themselves from everybody around them. Oddly enough, she knew the feeling well; Denny was the only person who had really bothered to talk to her about non-work related topics. She was too busy studying him to realize she was about to bump into a crate. The man had noticed, though, so he grabbed her arm and yanked her away from it. "Careful," he cautioned.

After a minute of silence, a little light bulb went off in her head. "You're MacReady, aren't you?" she asked curiously. "You brought Denny and me in."

He looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, that was me and Copper."

"How did you find us, if you don't mind my asking?"

MacReady was hesitant before speaking. "Copper and I were out trying to find a Norwegian base where this crazy guy might have come from. He was chasing a dog, wounded one of our men. We were searching for the base when we found you."

Kay was puzzled. Who from her base had come here? She had an idea, but she had been certain he had died…

"I got to say, we were surprised to find two people out in the middle of nowhere. You were barely holding on," he said. "Good thing Copper spotted you when he did."

Kay swallowed and said, "Well, I owe you my life, Mr. MacReady. Thank you, and Copper too."

"It was nothing," he replied, looking at her. "You can just call me MacReady. Everybody else does."

"Will you call me Kay?" she asked. "I'm not used to being called "miss"."

"Fair enough," he said. He was silent before speaking again. "I'm sorry we couldn't save him. Dennis, I mean."

Kay took a deep breath, trying not to let tears well up in her eyes. "Thank you. I know you and your team tried."


	4. Chapter 4

Finally they arrived at the end of the hall. Kay heard people talking inside one of the rooms, their voices muffled. "Wait here," MacReady told her. He disappeared inside and spoke to someone in a low voice. When he came back out, he motioned for her to come inside. Kay stepped into the room and looked around. It was a communications room; she remembered the one they had back at her base. There was a man sitting in front of the radio. He had headphones over his ears as he tried to reach someone. The other man, Garry, was sitting at a table with papers scattered on it. He motioned for Kay to come and sit down across from him. She sat down in a metal chair as Garry gazed upon her.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Miss Kennedy," he said. "I have to ask you a few questions regarding you and Mr. Morrison."

"Fire away," she replied. "What do you want to know?"

"After MacReady and Copper brought the two of you here, they went back out and discovered a research base several hundred miles from here." Garry slid a few photos across the table to her. "Recognize this?"

Taking the photos in her hand, Kay gazed down at the black and white shapes. She saw a large building with a sign out front that was written in Norwegian. "Yes," she said, flipping to the others. There was a photo of the inside of a ruined lab; _her _lab. "This is my base." She flipped to another picture and saw the body of one of her co-workers. Their face was scarred, but she knew instantly it was her fellow researcher, Marianne Banks. Her face was burned and her clothes torn and bloody. She was killed once the creature took her over.

"You worked for the Norwegians?" Garry snapped her back to reality.

"Yes. Denny and I were researchers. We were hired a few years ago, but this was only our second trip down to Antarctica." Garry clicked his tongue and exchanged glances with MacReady. Kay looked at them both. "What?" she asked.

"Miss Kennedy," Garry said. "This base has recently been destroyed. Can you tell us why?"

Kay felt her mouth go dry. "If I told you, then you wouldn't believe me."

"I saw the bodies," MacReady said gravely. "All of them were mutilated in one way or another. One of them had committed suicide with a razor."

"Miss Kennedy, this is a serious situation you're in," Garry leaned toward her. "What happened at your base?"

Before Kay could speak, MacReady spoke up. "We found something," he said, narrowing his eyes. "We found your notes and video tapes. We also found something that appears to be a disfigured man. He was burned alive."

Now she began to panic. "Y-You…you didn't bring it here, did you?"

"Yes, we did. Blair examined it and—"

"Are you crazy?" she exclaimed, rising out of her seat. MacReady was taken aback. "Do you realize what you've done? If that thing is alive…" Kay felt anger well up inside of her. "Oh, God, I cannot go through this again…"

"What thing?" Garry asked. "You know what it is?"

Before Kay could say anything, a loud alarm set off. It rang throughout the base, echoing off the walls. Garry and MacReady exchanged looks and started for the door. "Wait here," MacReady told her. "Watch her, Windows." The two men disappeared outside the room.

Kay glanced back at Windows. "We're just going to sit here?"

He shrugged. "That's what he said."

"What if they need help? We have to help them."

Windows stood up. "Look, ma'am, MacReady told me to watch you—"

Kay was already out the door, following the sound of the alarm. She could hear Windows following her, trying to get her to stop. She looked in the hallway and saw two men running towards the threat. Soon after, she heard several gunshots fired off. Fearing the worst, she jogged towards where they had gone and soon saw everybody outside a cage. Kay cautiously approached the group, gazing at their shocked faces. MacReady had a gun poised at the cage, completely alert.

She could hear weird sounds coming from inside. When Kay looked, she almost threw up. It was a giant, disgusting bulk of blood and skin in the shape of a dog. The dog's head was misshapen, its mouth and ears disproportioned with the rest of its body. There was a dead dog carcass lying up against the wall, a gunshot wound in its chest. The creature snarled menacingly as two more slimy body parts grew out of it. The body parts, looking more like giant arms, shot out of its back and grabbed the ceiling. The creature pulled itself up to the ceiling and hung there. There were shouts as someone entered the scene wearing a flame thrower.

"Damn it, Childs, torch it!" MacReady shouted, yanking the door open. Childs entered the cage and froze as he gazed upon the creature. After a moment's hesitation, he cranked up the flame thrower and burned the hanging dog. It howled as the flames made contact with its skin, falling limply to the floor. Three of the guys then rushed in with fire extinguishers and hastily extinguished the flames.

"You were supposed to be watching her," Garry said.

"Look, I'm sorry, but she just sprinted away from me," Windows explained.

Kay wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying. MacReady caught her eye and they exchanged astonished glances. She quietly stared back at the burnt creature, realizing the horror she had just endured would now be starting all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is more serious than I realized," Garry stated. "Whatever this _thing _is, we need to get to the bottom of it."

"What should we do?" MacReady asked, shifting his gun over his shoulder.

"Blair, you, Fuchs and Copper bring this thing back to the lab; dissect it. And check out that dead Norwegian too." The three men nodded and left to find a stretcher.

"Let me go with them," Kay said. "I know more about this creature than anyone here; I can help."

"Not at the moment, Miss Kennedy," he replied. "You'll be escorted back to your room until the dissection is complete."

"But I can help!" Kay exclaimed. "I was one of the people who discovered that thing, and you need—"

"Miss Kennedy," Garry narrowed his eyes. "Until we know more about this creature, you will remain in your room. When we need you, you will be called."

"Garry, she's right," MacReady said. "She's the only survivor of that base; she can help."

"Yes, she is," Garry replied. "That also makes her a huge liability. Childs, Norris, take Ms. Kennedy back to her room. Make sure she stays there."

The two men gripped Kay's arms and dragged her away before she could protest. She struggled and tried to talk them into taking her to the lab, but they wouldn't hear of it. When they arrived at her door, they tossed her in and locked her inside. "I'm sorry," Norris frowned. "It's nothing personal, just orders."

Kay felt like punching the walls, screaming her head off. She was shaking as she sank to the floor, her mind racing as she thought of what she had just witnessed. The creature that had ruined her did not die, and now it would spread all over the base unless she stopped it.

Kay was alone for about an hour before there was a knock on the door. It opened up and a man wearing a red shirt came in. He was carrying a doctor's bag. "Ms. Kathryn Kennedy," he smiled. "I'm Dr. Copper, and I wanted to give you a small checkup, just to make sure you're doing better."

She tried to smile back. "Okay, do what you got to do." As Copper sat down and took out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff, she realized what the pilot had told her earlier. "You found us in the snow, you and MacReady."

He nodded. "Yup, we sure did. Good thing, too; I thought you were going to die before I could help you."

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate what the two of you did."

"You're welcome," Copper smiled as he took her blood pressure. "And I'm sorry about Dennis Morrison."

Kay's heart sank as she thought of Denny. "I know you tried. He was injured pretty badly."

"Were you two close?" he asked.

She nodded. "Denny and I were on the same research team for about five years."

"Five years, huh? That's a long time," he pressed the stethoscope against her chest. "You know, I'm sorry Garry's being a pain in the ass. He's just stressed out with this whole mess."

"I can tell," she chuckled. "Is he afraid of me?"

"Honestly," Copper looked up at her. "Probably."

"Are you?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. You seem like a kind woman; we all think so."

Kay swallowed. "There's not a lot of women down here, are there?"

"No, but don't worry; they're all pretty civilized," Copper took out a syringe and a small bottle. "I'm gonna give you a small dose of penicillin. It'll take care of any infections you may have in you."

"Alright," Kay shrugged off her robe and rolled up her sleeve. As Copper prepped the needle, she said, "Is MacReady scared of me?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. He stood up for you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but after this dog incident…" she winced as the needle entered her skin.

Copper chuckled. "MacReady doesn't scare easily. I think he may even like you; he barely talks to anybody else around here."

"Really?" Kay asked.

"Oh, yeah. I know he looks tough, but he's a good guy. Best pilot we have," Copper packed up all of his instruments. "You are in perfect health, Miss Kennedy. And since you are, I've been asked to take you to Garry. I think he's ready to listen to you."

"Call me Kay," she said, slipping her robe back on her shoulders. "Did you and Blair find anything interesting about the creature?"

"The only thing he could really find was that this creature has the ability to imitate other life forms. Know anything about that?"

Kay nodded. "Denny and I did some experiments when we dug it up. All my notes are back at our base."

"No, they're not," Copper replied. "I brought them back here."

She frowned. "Really?"

He nodded. "Some of the men are watching that video of your team digging up that creature."

Kay felt a small surge of anger wash over her. "Take me to them."


	6. Chapter 6

Copper brought her to a small room. Inside, Kay saw MacReady and some other men observing video footage. She knew the video well; it documented the day they had dug up the creature. Currently it showed them all taking out explosives.

"How much more of this crap is there?" Bennings asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"About nine hours, I'd say," Fuchs said.

"We can't learn anything from this," he replied.

"Enjoying the movie?" she asked sarcastically. They all turned around; MacReady had a guilty expression on his face.

"Kay, we were just…"

"That's private!" she snapped, heading to take the video.

Garry blocked her path. "This is evidence, Ms. Kennedy. We need to learn more about this creature."

"By watching our private footage?" she retorted, looking at the screen. Now it showed all of her team standing along the edge of the crater they had made. She remembered the pride on everyone's face, how excited they were to discover an alien life form. "I doubt you'll find anything worth watching on those tapes. Or in those pictures." She nodded towards the small stack that Norris was looking over.

"Just trying to understand all this," Norris said. "You guys look really happy in these pictures." He held up a group photo. Denny had his arm wrapped around her shoulders; they were both grinning along with the others.

Kay tried not to cry. "Yeah, we were. We thought it was our first big breakthrough."

"You guys dug up this thing in the ice?" Childs asked, gesturing to video of the giant hole they had blown up.

She nodded. "One of our tech men came up with the idea to set up some thermo charges around the area."

"Seems they did their job too well," Garry remarked. "Norris, where were these shots taken?"

"Northeast of their camp sight, about five or six miles," he replied. "We should go check it out. Mac?"

MacReady nodded. "I'll start up the helicopter."

"Sure you want to go up? 35 knots outside," Bennings said.

"Screw it, I'm going up anyway. Kay?" he asked. "Can you come too? We could use your help."

"Yeah, sure," she agreed. "I just need my coat."

"I can't allow that," Garry said sternly.

Kay felt anger flood inside her. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded. "I can help but you're clearly too senile to comprehend that!"

"Garry, what gives?" MacReady asked. "I need her help in finding the location of this place."

"Take Palmer; he needs the experience, being the pilot in training," he replied. "Ms. Kennedy—"

"Kay," she said. "Please stop referring to me by a title. Just call me Kay."

"Fine, then. Kay, you're a liability and I can't have you out there risking your neck for a science experiment gone wrong. You did your part; now let my men do theirs."

"Oh, so now it's because I'm a woman?" she retorted.

"I never said it was because you're a woman," Garry said.

"Do you realize the severity of this situation?" she snapped. "If you don't get my help, we are dead. Do you hear me? We are all dead!"

The room was quiet after she said that. MacReady stopped putting on his jacket, staring at her in shock. Garry looked as if he had been punched in the gut. "If you want to help so badly," he said coolly. "Then help Blair translate these notes. They're all in Norwegian." He turned his back on her and walked out of the room.

Kay exhaled sharply. "That wasn't as painful as I had anticipated."

"Kay, I'm sorry," Copper said. "Garry's just hard headed."

"It's fine; don't worry about it," she walked over to the map where MacReady was standing. "The area you're looking for is right here," she pointed it out on the map. "Do you think you can manage by following these coordinates?"

He nodded. "We'll make do. Thanks, Kay."

She nodded. "Good luck. Blair, can I see those notes?"


	7. Chapter 7

For the next two hours, Kay poured over her notes and those in Norwegian. She knew very little of the language, unfortunately, so she could only make out a few words. She tried using her own experience with the creature to guide her to some sort of solution for the men, but she could find none. Even if they didn't have the notes or even her own knowledge, the men had just as much of a chance at surviving as her own base had had. She could only pray the outcomes wouldn't be similar.

Blair was quiet as he looked over the notes. He spoke to Kay a little, but he was mostly wrapped up in his own thoughts. Every time he looked down at a note or reviewed the video footage, Kay saw a look in his eyes; it was as if he knew a storm was coming and there was no way to stop it. She had a feeling he wasn't that far off. When Kay had reviewed her own notes at least a dozen times, she heard Windows announce that MacReady, Norris, and Palmer were back. Kay followed them to the Rec Room where the trio was already stripping their outside gear off. She looked at MacReady and almost had a giggle fit. He had a huge Texan cowboy hat on his head. He looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face.

Once the group had settled in, MacReady began to describe what they had seen. A gigantic space craft hundreds of yards wide, buried under the ice for at least 100,000 years. He began to grow tired of recounting his tale as one guy after the next asked him questions he couldn't have the answer to. "I don't know," MacReady sighed as he swallowed the drink he had poured. "Thousands of years ago, this aircraft crashes and this Thing gets thrown out or crawls out, and it ends up freezing in the ice."

"I just cannot believe any of this voodoo bullshit," Childs exclaimed, puffing on his cigarette.

"Childs, it happens all the time, man," Palmer said from his seat. "They're falling outta the skies like flies."

Childs turned to Kay and Blair. "Do you believe any of this voodoo bullshit, Blair?" Blair was silent, staring down at a photograph. Childs looked at Kay and said, "I suppose you believe it, right?"

She nodded. "I've lived through it."

Garry stood up at this. "Come on, now, MacReady. The Norwegians get a hold of this, and they dig it up out of the ice."

"Yes, Garry, they dig it up. They cart it back. It gets thawed out, wakes up, not in the best of moods. I don't know; ask Kay, she was there." He nodded towards her.

Suddenly, Nauls rolled into the room and addressed everyone. "Which one of you disrespectful men been tossin' his dirty drawers in the kitchen trash can?" He tossed a shredded pair of long johns on the pinball machine. "I want my kitchen clean and germfree, okay?"

Childs spoke up again. "Now how's this motherfucker wake up after thousands of years in the ice?"

"And how could it look like a dog?" Bennings chimed in.

MacReady looked up and said in an exasperated voice, "I don't know how. 'Cause it's different than us, see? 'Cause it's from outer space. What do you want from me? Ask one of them." He nodded to Blair and Kay.

"You buy any of this, Blair?" Childs asked frustratingly.

Blair was silently staring at the photo of our group around the block of ice that was the creature. He didn't say anything. Instead, Kay spoke up, "My group and I didn't understand its capabilities either. Truthfully, we got very little data before it started attacking us."

"So you don't know why this creature can shape shift?" Childs asked.

"Well, I don't know the exact reason, but it's just the way it is. It's the way the cells were designed. Wherever this creature came from, it lives and continues to thrive on other organisms by becoming them. I know it sounds impossible; believe me, that's what we all thought, but you have to believe what's in front of your own eyes."

"What should we do with the bodies, then?" Bennings asked.

Garry spoke up. "We should lock them up in the storeroom until we can decide what to do. Everybody should grab their stuff from there beforehand." He turned to Kay and said, "There're some spare clothes in the storeroom you should put on. If you're helping us, you'll need to protect yourself from freezing to death."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Everybody started leaving the Rec Room. MacReady looked over at her and said, "I think Garry's finally warming up to you."

Kay snorted. "I doubt it. He needs my brain to survive."

"It's a good thing we have your brain," he stood up. "We're clueless."

She chuckled lightly. "That's a nice thing to say about your team."

He shrugged. "They're good guys, don't get me wrong."

"You don't talk to them mostly, do you?" she asked suddenly.

MacReady stared at her silently. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem…I don't know. You seem distant from them. Do you live in that shack all by yourself?"

"Yes," he replied. He looked away from her and picked up the shredded clothing Nauls had brought in. "I like it that way."

"Why?" she stood up and walked closer to him. "In this part of the world, the last thing you should want is to be alone."

"You wouldn't understand."

"You're right, I don't. At my base, I was isolated too, but it wasn't my choice. Denny was the only person who ever really tried to get to know me."

"Yeah, and look what happened to him," MacReady said. "He's dead. He got himself killed for no good reason."

Kay felt anger flare up inside of her. "You want to know how Denny died? He was injured trying to protect me."

MacReady took a long sip of his drink. "How'd that happen, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, we were the only ones left after that thing killed everybody else. We tried blowing up our base to destroy it, and it came after us. While we were setting up charges, it attacked. It threw me against a wall and hurled a large piece of metal at my head. Denny knocked me out of the way so the metal stabbed his side. We blew up the base and ran for our lives right up until you found us in the snow."

He was silent once more. "I didn't know," he admitted. "I'm sorry; he was your friend and I should've respected that."

She sighed and rubbed her temple. "I can't believe he's gone. I knew his chances were slim, but still…" Kay looked MacReady square in the eye. "I'm not going to let that thing do to you what it did to Denny and I."

MacReady smiled a bit. "You're one brave woman, Kay. I admire that."

Just then, Copper stuck his head around the corner. "Hey Mac, we're moving those things into the storeroom. Can you come get your stuff? And Kay, you need those spare clothes."

"We're coming," MacReady replied. "I'll show you where it is, Kay." The two of them walked out of the Rec Room and he led her down the hall and around several corners. The storeroom door was wide open when they walked inside. Kay cringed when she saw the creature lying lifeless underneath a sheet. MacReady pointed to one shelf. "The spares are right there. Help yourself." As he started gathering up his stuff, she sifted through the spare clothes she needed. She took a pair of thick pants and an extra thermal shirt and a heavy coat for outside. Just as they were about to leave, Bennings and Windows entered the room, carrying the dog creature under a white sheet.

"Sorry, Mac," Bennings said as they set it down on the floor. "Doc says you gotta move your stuff—" He stopped when he realized MacReady already knew. "Doc says we got to stash them in here and lock them up."

Kay grabbed the spares and walked out of the room, MacReady following behind her. But then, Fuchs came up to him and said, "I need to talk to you."

"I'm tired of talking, Fuchs," MacReady said. "I just want to get up to my shack and get drunk."

"Mac, it's important," Fuchs said.

"What is it?"

"Outside."

"It's forty below outside," MacReady exclaimed.

"In the Thiokol. Please, Mac," Fuchs insisted.

MacReady finally sighed and set his stuff down. "You okay from here, Kay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Go ahead." As the two of them left, she made her way down the halls to where her stuff was. She learned from Copper that her coat and other belongings were back in the lab where she was first brought in. Some of it was damaged by the creature, but her gloves and hat were still usable. When she finally located the lab, she pushed open the heavy doors and paused where she stood. They still had Denny's body on the long lab table; the blood on his sheet was now brown. On the table next to him, however, was another body. She realized this was the man who had come after the dog; the man from her base she thought had died.

Kay set her stuff down on the floor and slowly approached the table. With a shaky hand, she grasped the sheet and pulled it back to reveal a pale face covered in blood. She knew who it was instantly: Jans Boland, their team leader. She saw he was shot through the eye, so his death was instant. She thought he was killed as they set up the explosives, but she was mistaken. She couldn't help but wonder if he tried searching for Denny and herself. Kay quickly covered Jans's body back up and turned to Denny. She couldn't help it; she needed to see him once last time. She reached for the sheet and pulled it back to reveal Denny's face.

Kay had never felt so mournful in her entire life. Denny was pale and still just like Jans, his eyelids and mouth closed. His hat was gone so she saw his brown hair matted down on his forehead. She reached out and touched his face. He felt cold and emotionless, a hollow shell of someone she used to know. She could feel the texture of the beard he was growing underneath her fingertips. She held one of his hands at his side, and let out a soft cry. She felt a few tears fall down her cheeks, wondering how she would explain to his family the death of their only son. Kay felt a chill run through her body, and she knew she had to change into something warmer before she froze to death. She gazed upon Denny's face one more time before bending down to kiss his forehead. She pulled the sheet back over his head and turned her attention to her own clothes. She pulled on the thick pair of pants and changed into a fresh thermal shirt. As she picked up her own hat and gloves, an alarm echoed throughout the base. The same alarm that sounded when the creature attacked the dogs. Kay grabbed her coat and ran out into the hallway. She saw Norris and Childs run past her outside, and she quickly followed.

Outside, the cold stung her cheeks, but she barely noticed. The men were forming a circle around something kneeling in the snow, and they all appeared frightened. She saw MacReady standing by a barrel of gasoline. "Keep back! Stay back!" he shouted. "It isn't Bennings!"

Kay looked closer and saw it was Bennings, except it wasn't. She saw the blood on his clothes and the bleak look in his eyes, but that wasn't the worst of it. He had two large disfigured hands covered in blood, and soon, he began to screech. It sounded eerie, as if a thousand men were shouting from the depths of Hell for someone to help them. MacReady knocked the barrel over and gasoline spilled out around him. He threw a lit flare onto the gas, and Bennings was covered in flames within moments. As his screams echoed around the base, everybody looked around nervously at one another. Kay felt something in the pit of her stomach, an uneasiness that made her realize protecting these men would be harder than she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

MacReady made the decision to burn the rest of Bennings' remains. Gary opposed it at first, claiming that Bennings had been his friend for ten years. He eventually came to reason with the fact that it wasn't the real Bennings; it was an imitation. Everybody gathered the remains in between two snow banks and poured gasoline on them. MacReady lit another flare and dropped it on the pile. The fire lit up the group's desolate faces, highlighting their suspicions about one another. Kay could only stare at the fire, her mind going blank.

"You sure that's the rest of him?" MacReady asked Copper.

"We cleaned out the storeroom. That's all there is," he replied.

Everybody soon started to file inside as the cold grew bitter. Kay remained where she was, her eyes closed, trying to process everything that had happened. The cold didn't bother her anymore; nothing did. "Kay?"

She looked up and saw MacReady staring at her. "You should probably go inside to the Rec Room. It's getting cold out here."

Kay smiled grimly. "There are other important things to worry about besides the cold."

"Look, I know this was…unfortunate, but until we straighten this whole thing out, it's best you just go back inside. We're gonna need you soon."

She sighed. "Fine. Are you coming?"

He paused. "I'll stay out here for a little. You go ahead; I'll be right in."

Kay nodded and walked back into the base. She found her way to the Rec Room where everybody was still stunned silent. It wasn't long, however, before they started hearing loud crashes coming from down the hall. Everybody stood up and rushed down to where they heard the noise. Kay saw that it was the communications room. She didn't have a good view, but she saw Blair and Windows inside. Windows was on the floor backing up very hastily and Blair was wielding something in his hand. She soon realized what it was: an ax. Blair was swinging it around the room, chopping up anything in his way. He was shouting to something that wasn't there.

"Anyone comes in here, I'll kill them!" he exclaimed, firing a shot from his pistol. It nearly hit Kay, so she crouched down low against a wall.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

Before anyone could respond, there were footsteps coming up from behind her. She turned around and saw MacReady running towards their small group. He crouched down next to her and said, "He chopped up the chopper pretty good. Childs, go see if he got to the tractor."

Childs nodded his head and disappeared down the hall. Blair was continuing to shout and smash their only method of communication. "Nobody's getting out of here! Nobody!" he shouted. "They think they're smart, but I got them!"

"What's he talking about?" Kay whispered.

"I don't know," MacReady replied. "Christ, we got to stop him before he hurts Windows."

"Any ideas?"

"I'm working on it," he said. Suddenly, there were more approaching footsteps from behind them. Childs appeared breathing heavily.

"He got most of the chopper and the tractor. And he's killed the rest of the dogs," he said gravely.

Kay looked at Clark. His face was stone cold as he rose up and ran down the hall to where the dogs were kept. She started to rise up, but MacReady yanked her back down to the floor.

"Kay, stay down," he warned her. "I have an idea. Childs, go around to the map room door, try to talk to him." Childs nodded and quickly darted around the room. MacReady looked at Norris and said, "Get a table from the lab. We'll try to pin him down."

Blaire kept shouting about the thing wanting to be an animal, and it only filled Kay with more fear. Despite his state, she understood what he was referring to. The only problem was, should she tell the others?

"Okay, Blair, "Childs started. "Come on now, you don't want to hurt anybody." He ducked out of the way as Blaire fired off a bullet.

"I'll kill you!" Blair exclaimed, firing off his gun like a mad man. When he ran out of ammo, he threw his gun at the entrance where Childs was. When he did so, MacReady held up the lab table and charged at him, knocking Blair to the ground as he swung the axe. However, Blair was too quick for them. He shoved MacReady to the ground, then Garry, just knocking people down. MacReady, along with Childs and Copper, charged Blair again, punching him so he went unconscious for a brief moment. When things had settled down, they hoisted Blair to his feet and tried to keep him steady.

"What should we do? Lock him up?" Childs asked.

"We'll put him in the shack outside," Garry said. "Copper, can you give him some morphine to keep him calm?"

"I'll go prep a needle," he replied, exiting the room.

Kay looked at Blair and his bruised face. He looked up at her and said, "It can't get out. It can't leave…"

She nodded. "I know, Blair, I know."


End file.
